Automatic, register-gage and gripper.



J. R. GROVE. AUTOMATIC REGISTER GAGE AND GRIPPER.

APPLICATION I'I LIID AUG. 10 1908.

Patented Dec; 8, 1908.

altoznup JACOB Bonn Gno'v'ti, OF PHILiPsBU'Re,.LeiiNNsYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC, REGISTERG'AGE AND GRIPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. s, 1908.

Application filed August 10, 1908. Serial No. 447,857.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAooB Rona GRovE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philipsburg, in the county of Center and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Automatic Register Gage andGripper, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to register gages for printing presses Where handfeeding is employed, and has for its principal object to provide a novelform of register gage that will accurately position misplaced sheets.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gage that may bereadily and quickly attached to thegripper and tympan without mutilatingthe latter, and the posi-' tion of which may be changed in accord ancewith the size of the sheet and the location of the type.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a gage thatoccupies a very small space on the press and will notin any mannerinterfere with the usual work on presses when gages are not used.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a register gagecarried by one of the gripper arms of the press.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of thiskind for holding the left hand side of the sheet to the tympan duringthe imprinting operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a gripper armcarried gage that will serve also as a sheet clamp.

ith these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the invention consists in certain novel features of constructionand arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims, it being understood that various changes in the form,proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be made Withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings :F igure 1 is a plan view of the tympan,platen, gripper arm and the register gage forming the subject of thepresent invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through theregister gage showing the gage in the position assumed when the platenis open. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the gage moved for the purposeof adjusting a sheet. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the gage proper.Fig. 5 is a similar view of the tympan plate used in connection with thegage. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the slide. Fig. 7 is adetail perspective view illustrating a slight modificationof the gage.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The base or tympan plate 10 is formed of sheet metal, one end of thesheet being bent to form a spring arm 11. I11 attaching the plate twosmall parallel slits are formed in the tympan sheet and the plain end ofthe plate 10 is inserted through one slit, while the arm 11 is insertedthrough the other. This is suflieient to firmly hold the plate inposition.

Mounted on the left hand gripper arm is a slide 15 that formed of asheet of brass or other metal, one end of the sheet being cut and itscentral portion bent outward to form a hinge leaf 16, while the stripson the opposite sides of the leaf are bent to form tongues 17 thatextend under the gripper arm, the terminals of the tongues being securedto the body of the slide by rivets 18. Between the bent portions of thestrips 17 and the adjacent edge of the gripper arm is a small leafspring 20 which serves as a means for frictionally holding the slide inadjusted position, the spring yielding in order to permit moving of theslide in accordance to the position to which the tympan plate isadjusted.

Connected to the hinge leaf 16 by a pivot pin 22 is a plate 23 having adown turned finger 24 that is held in contact with the tympan plate andwhich serves as the regis ter gage proper its function being to engagewith the edge of a misplaced sheet and move the same over to properposition to receive the imprint. Surrounding the pivot pin 32 is atorsion spring 25 having one end bearing against the hinge leaf 16 andthe other against the plate 23. This spring serves to maintain the loweredge of the finger 24 in constant engagement with the tympan sheet.

During the operation of the press the gripper will be moved in thedirection of the tympan and the plate 23 will be moved down towardposition parallel with the ty1n pan plate. This causes the age finger tocome into contact with a misplaced sheet and the sheet will thereupon bemoved over to the gage line at proper position to receive the imprint.As the platen moves to open position the finger will leave the'sheet andthe plate 23 will again assume the oblique position shown in Fig. 2.

In register gages of this general type where the gage is operated by thegripper arm, the function of the gripper as a sheet engaging member isnullified, and only the right hand gripper engages'with the sheet.

In order to remedy this detect, the projecting end of the plate 18 isprovided with a down turned flange 29 that acts to engage with and holdthe sheet against the tympan so that there is no danger of the sheetmoving outward while traveling toward the type bed or clinging to thetype, after the impress.

In Fig. 7 is shown a slight modification of the structure. In this casethe gage is formed of a sheet of metal that is so bent as to encirclethe gripper arm to provide the sheet gripping finger and also to form aspring tongue that engages with and moves the sheet over to properposition on the tympan. This gage is preferably formed of a piece oftempered steel, and operates as a fiat or coil spring.

What is claimed is 1. In combination, a slide formed of a sheet of metalone end of which. is bent outward to form a hinge leaf and the sidestrips being bent to form gripper encircling fingers, a frictionalbinding spring carried by the same, a plate pivoted to the hinge leafand terminating in a gage finger, and a spring tending to move the plateto open position.

2. A tympan gage comprising a slide consisting of a plate having at oneof its ends spaced return bends, forming gripper encircling fingers, anda gage plate hinged to the said end of the plate between the fingers.

3. A tympan gage comprising a slide having at one end hinge knuckles,and gripper encircling fingers, a gage-plate formed with hinge knuckles,and a pintle passing through the knuckles of the slide and gage plate.

4. A tympan gage comprising a slide hav ing at one end a sheet clamp,and at the other end hinge knuckles and gripper encircling fingers, agage-plate formed with hinge knuckles, and a pintle passing through theknuckles of the slide and the gage-plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JACOB ROHR GROVE.

Witnesses:

Gr. T. RUMBERGER, E. ETHEL GROVE.

